Contacts of corona patients 'lost'
Government has dropped a bombshell by conceding its inability to trace people who had come in contact with infected patients.
JEMIMA BEUKES
WINDHOEK
Government yesterday confirmed it is in the dark regarding the whereabouts of people – potentially in their hundreds - who had come into contact with three patient who had tested positive for the coronavirus.
The three had grossly breached self-isolation regulations, causing public panic.
This includes the 16th confirmed infected person who, according to health minister Kalumbi Shangula, continued to work while waiting for his test results and coming in contact with more than 50 people.
The travel history of this person is also inconsistent and it cannot be established whether it was a community transmission or imported transmission, Shangula said at a media briefing held at State House on Tuesday. Shangula also reported that the 15th confirmed infected person breached the self-isolation regulations while waiting for his results and was “out and about” in the community.
Despite advice not to use public transport while seeking healthcare, the person allegedly took a taxi to the Robert Mugabe Clinic for admission to isolation on 7 April 2020.
Attempted murder
In neighbouring South Africa, a tourist and a business owner are facing attempted murder charges for failing to isolate themselves after being infected with the new coronavirus. The tourist left the Kruger National Park, a renowned safari destination, and travelled onto a nature reserve on the country's eastern coast despite being instructed to self-quarantine, South African Police Service spokesman Vishnu Naidoo said. “The person is in quarantine now and will be charged with attempted murder,” Naidoo said.
The South African business owner was tested after returning from a trip abroad and instructed to self-quarantine pending the results.
Instead, the 52-year-old allegedly continued running his salon
Potential risk
Shangula, speaking to Namibian Sun at the coronavirus media centre yesterday, admitted the ministry has no idea what happened to about 160 passengers who landed at Hosea Kutako International Airport earlier this month, as well as those who entered Walvis Bay and were sent home to self-isolate.
At the time, former health minister Dr Bernard Haufiku said the decision not to quarantine the group was “controversial”.
This group was left idle at the airport for more than four hours because custom officials had no clue what to do with them.
Health minister Dr Kalumbi Shangula said yesterday these people were not tested and there is a potential that there may have been asymptomatic infections.
“These are the people who are lost to us because we do not know their status. They were not quarantined like others to be followed up. For these 120 people, we do not know if they had symptoms or not and that is a concern,” he said.
Targeted testing
Meanwhile, the government is unable to roll out mass testing because of a serious shortage of reagents.
Instead, the ministry will begin targeted testing, focusing on hotspots and people with respiratory illnesses.
The ministry is enlisting community health workers to detect cases and find out within communities who are those likely infected.
“We must preserve the few reagents we have, because there is a global shortage of reagents at the moment. We will identify hotspots but at the present moment, I do not know how many people may qualify to be tested,” Shangula said.
He, however, added that the Namibia Institute of Pathology can do 96 tests on one run.
“We can have one run or two runs as long as there are specimens to be tested. The reason why we are not doing much testing is because of the criteria, which will be reviewed,” he said.
[email protected]
WINDHOEK
Government yesterday confirmed it is in the dark regarding the whereabouts of people – potentially in their hundreds - who had come into contact with three patient who had tested positive for the coronavirus.
The three had grossly breached self-isolation regulations, causing public panic.
This includes the 16th confirmed infected person who, according to health minister Kalumbi Shangula, continued to work while waiting for his test results and coming in contact with more than 50 people.
The travel history of this person is also inconsistent and it cannot be established whether it was a community transmission or imported transmission, Shangula said at a media briefing held at State House on Tuesday. Shangula also reported that the 15th confirmed infected person breached the self-isolation regulations while waiting for his results and was “out and about” in the community.
Despite advice not to use public transport while seeking healthcare, the person allegedly took a taxi to the Robert Mugabe Clinic for admission to isolation on 7 April 2020.
Attempted murder
In neighbouring South Africa, a tourist and a business owner are facing attempted murder charges for failing to isolate themselves after being infected with the new coronavirus. The tourist left the Kruger National Park, a renowned safari destination, and travelled onto a nature reserve on the country's eastern coast despite being instructed to self-quarantine, South African Police Service spokesman Vishnu Naidoo said. “The person is in quarantine now and will be charged with attempted murder,” Naidoo said.
The South African business owner was tested after returning from a trip abroad and instructed to self-quarantine pending the results.
Instead, the 52-year-old allegedly continued running his salon
Potential risk
Shangula, speaking to Namibian Sun at the coronavirus media centre yesterday, admitted the ministry has no idea what happened to about 160 passengers who landed at Hosea Kutako International Airport earlier this month, as well as those who entered Walvis Bay and were sent home to self-isolate.
At the time, former health minister Dr Bernard Haufiku said the decision not to quarantine the group was “controversial”.
This group was left idle at the airport for more than four hours because custom officials had no clue what to do with them.
Health minister Dr Kalumbi Shangula said yesterday these people were not tested and there is a potential that there may have been asymptomatic infections.
“These are the people who are lost to us because we do not know their status. They were not quarantined like others to be followed up. For these 120 people, we do not know if they had symptoms or not and that is a concern,” he said.
Targeted testing
Meanwhile, the government is unable to roll out mass testing because of a serious shortage of reagents.
Instead, the ministry will begin targeted testing, focusing on hotspots and people with respiratory illnesses.
The ministry is enlisting community health workers to detect cases and find out within communities who are those likely infected.
“We must preserve the few reagents we have, because there is a global shortage of reagents at the moment. We will identify hotspots but at the present moment, I do not know how many people may qualify to be tested,” Shangula said.
He, however, added that the Namibia Institute of Pathology can do 96 tests on one run.
“We can have one run or two runs as long as there are specimens to be tested. The reason why we are not doing much testing is because of the criteria, which will be reviewed,” he said.
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